2017-2018 Principal’s Letter to Parents

I hope you had a fun summer and that you are starting to look forward to coming back to school, we are going to have a great year. You may feel excited, perhaps even a little bit nervous about the new school year and that is okay. Many other students are feeling the same way and we will all be there for each other so we can have an amazing school year. I felt excited and a little bit nervous at the beginning of each school year when I was student at Columbine. Just remember, the teachers at Columbine are very nice and will teach you so much and help you feel safe and happy at school.

I am here to help so please let me know if I can ever support you in any way.

I hope you enjoyed a wonderful summer with your families. The summer is such a great time for all of us to spend quality time with our children and loved ones. I am really looking forward to connecting with students and getting to know their strengths and interests. Our shared goal at Columbine is to keep learning fun and engaging while meeting the targeted learning standards. I am certain that with your help we will make 2017-2018 a great school year for all students, and in turn, my promise to you is that we will value and welcome your support, ideas and feedback.

With your support, the phenomenal Columbine staff will keep students safe while supporting their academic and social-emotional growth. Together, let’s focus all our energy to continue to cultivate students’ love for learning in a school that constantly strives for excellence and equity. Following is our shared vision:

“Columbine’s vision is to provide a bilingual learning community that nurtures academic excellence, encouraging each student to achieve his or her full potential as an emerging responsible citizen with the strength of character to take on the challenges of the 21st Century.”

Information – for your easy access

Class Lists

In order to comply with the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), BVSD schools will no longer be able to post class lists and bus information in front of buildings. Instead, class lists will be emailed using the main email provided by families by August 14 at 3:30pm. If you do not have access to a computer please feel free to come to the office to get your child’s classroom assignment and bus information. We want to take this opportunity to thank all of you for not making specific teacher requests last year. You provided important written information to be factored in last year to share with teachers as they were creating this year’s homerooms. For the convenience of new families joining Columbine, you can read more about class placement at below:

“Creating balanced classes each year is a collaborative process that the Columbine teachers and staff begin working on during a spring in-service day and continue refining in August. Teachers and staff consider academic strengths and needs, gender, social-emotional concerns, and peer dynamics as they work to create balanced classes. If you would like to provide additional information on your child’s learning and/or social development needs, please do so in writing to the principal. Letters should not be sent directly to classroom teachers. Your written input will be shared only with those teachers and staff members who are involved in creating new class lists. Columbine does not consider requests for a specific teacher.”

1st Day Arrival- Meeting Area

Kindergarten will meet in the Kindergarten Playground

1st – 5th Grades will meet on the blacktop south of the school

Arrival

In order to meet the required number of instructional minutes during the school year, school will start at 8:15 am sharp. Students will be considered tardy at 8:20. We are also required to take attendance as soon as possible to ensure that all students arrived at school safely. To that end, attendance needs to be taken immediately after the tardy bell rings. To minimize waste of instructional time, universal breakfast will be served from 8:15 until 8:35 during integrated homerooms. Students who are not eating breakfast will use this time to catch enjoy independent reading. Parents, please talk to your child’s teacher if you are available to help with breakfast, read a book aloud to the students, check in homework, or any other task to support instruction. A gentle reminder, this is not a time to conference with your child’s teacher. Teachers are on duty the moment the first student walks in their classroom. If you want more information on why we need to protect instructional time please check out this resource from the National Center on Time and Learning by following this link.

Supervision During Arrival

Please remember that we only have student supervision 15 minutes before the first bell rings. School doors will automatically close after the tardy bell at 8:20 a.m. Knowing that many parents are rushing on their way to work, the Hug and Go lane is designed precisely for that purpose, to have parents Hug and Go and get on their way. If you are planning on staying, or need more time to say goodbye, please use the parking lots.Please do not drop students on 22nd street. This is extremely dangerous and buses load and unload students in this area.

Dismissal- All students scheduled to be picked up will be ushered to the front of the building where staff will adequately supervise students.Important, unless it is an emergency, if you change dismissal plans for your child, we need to know before 2:30 pm on the day of the change. You can call us at 720-561-2500 or write us a note.

Buses- Buses will load students at 3:00 pm on 22nd street.

Car- Hug and Go- In the beginning, pick up will take a little bit longer but as the year progresses, it gets much easier. Last year, we were able to dismiss students in as little as 12 minutes! Please do not leave your car. Staff will ask who you are taking and walk the student to your vehicle. Please do not pick up students on 22nd street.

Walkers/Bikers- Students will be at the Library Patio and released to authorized adults. The Library Patio is for the dismissal of students that are picked up by parents on foot. Please do not use the north parking lot as an additional hug and go. We ask that you park your car if you want to use this alternative. We also ask that you do not park on the parking spots designated for drivers with disabilities.

We can’t dismiss students to adults, or allow students to walk home, without written permission from the parents or guardians. Also, it helps tremendously to have accurate and current information, particularly phone numbers, address, and who is or isn’t allowed to pick up the student. Please make sure to call our Registrar, Mariana de la Cruz at 720-561-2504, with any needed updates. Finally, please help us by walking bikes, skateboards, etc. while on school grounds. Everyone’s safety is our greatest priority!

Bus Riders- Discipline

If your student rides the bus to school, please reminds him or her that they are as accountable for their behavior on the bus as when they are home or at school. This is also true at the bus stop. Driving a bus with 75 students is challenging if students are misbehaving. Typically Columbine students do a great job on the bus. However, please know that if a student gets a referral on the bus, he or she will need to fill out a “Stop and Think” at school. However, a second referral within a month will result on the suspension of bus privileges for one day. Each repeated offense will add a day to the suspension. We know that this will ultimately inconvenience the families but bus safety is essential. Please help me by talking to your child about our shared expectations while riding the district bus.

In order to reduce the number of students riding on the buses dedicated to the Valmont corridor, we will have kindergarteners and first graders living in this area ride the preschool buses. Older siblings will be allowed to ride with the little ones one a space available basis.

Parking

We encourage families, volunteers, and visitors to use the parking lots on Repplier Drive on the west side of the building. Please drive slowly and observe the parking signals for the obvious safety reasons but also because we are always modeling for our students. Please try to not park on the neighboring streets, we are trying to be good neighbors. Parking in the Hug-and-Go loop is restricted during drop off from 8:00-8:45 am and dismissal from 2:45 and 3:15 pm.

YMCA

After school childcare and childcare programming for days when school is out will can be arranged with the YMCA of Boulder. For more information please contact the YMCA at 303-443-4474.

Volunteers

We need your help to cover all the bases. Last year we had tremendous parent support. Thank you! Without exception, regular volunteers must complete all the district requirements including a background screening on a yearly basis. Level 1 volunteers are able to work with students while supervised by a teacher. Level 2 and 3 volunteers are able to work with students while not supervised directly by a teacher as long as they meet the requirements outlined in the following district link:http://bvsd.org/volunteer/Pages/default.aspx. If you need help with any of the requirements, we will be glad to help in the office. Mariana de la Cruz is an expert in this area. You can reach her at 720-561-2504.

Visitors

Without exception, all parents, volunteers, and visitors need to check in at the front office and get a volunteer or visitor sticker. It is everyone’s responsibility to keep our students safe while at our school. Please let’s remind each other if this expectation is not met. If you see an adult at our school without a badge or a visitor sticker, please remind them to check in at the office. Our students’ safety is a job that we share at Columbine!

Handbook

Cell Phones

Please remind students that cell phones in school are for emergency use only and need to be kept in their backpacks and silenced. We encourage parents to help us by not sending the students to school with expensive phones. The school is unable to take responsibility for items damaged or stolen. Other electronics like iPods and any kind of games are not allowed in school.

Toys and Other Items that Don’t Belong in School

It will help tremendously when parents remind students to keep their toys at home. Believe it or not, many of the issues that we had to mediate in the office where related to toys. Please support us by having a conversation about things that can or cannot come to school. Particularly items that even unintentionally can hurt someone else.

Discipline Matrix

Assessment Days- August 16 and 17

On August 16th and 17th, the Columbine Kindergarten staff will be assessing as many kindergartners as possible in order to determine kindergarten readiness and placement. These assessments give the teachers valuable information to guide their instruction.

Although we will not be able to make appointments for all of our incoming kindergartners, we hope to complete as many of the required assessments as possible. An office staff member will call in early August to set a time that works for you. The appointments will last approximately 45 minutes. We ask that an adult stay with the student during the assessment.

Again, please don’t worry if you already have plans and are unable to bring your kindergartner, or if the team fills up all the spots before getting to your kindergartner. We will have plenty of time, as the school year begins, to assess and get to know each student.

IMPORTANT- Staggered Start Dates for Kindergarten

In order to give incoming kindergartners as much attention as we can, we will be staggering their start dates as follows:

If your kindergartner’s last name starts with letters A-L, they will attend on Friday, August 18.

If your kindergartner’s last name starts with letters M-Z, they will attend on Monday, August 21.

ALL KINDERGARTNERS will start classes together on August 22

August 15- Drop Off Supplies and Meet the Teacher from 3:30 to 4:30. This is an informal and fun gathering to help ease any anxiety for our young learners. Please accept our apology, this is not a time to conference with teachers.

August 24- Back to School Night

5:00-5:45 First Session

6:00- 6:45 Second Session

August 2017

August 9

Office opens for school year

August 9, 10,11

Online Registration Workshop (you can do this from home following this LINK).

If you need help please come to Columbine from 3:00 to 5:00 p.m. by first letter of last name

A-H on August 9

I-P on August 10

Q-Z on August 11

August 14

Class lists and bus schedules emailed home 3:30 p.m. (explained in Back to School Parent Letter)